Lindon standoff ends with nonlethal force

LINDON — After a nearly two-hour standoff, police and SWAT officers used nonlethal force Thursday to subdue a 78-year-old man who had threatened to kill himself.

Police said the man, who had been drinking alcohol since the night before, called 911 around 10:30 a.m. threatening suicide and told police he had a gun, said Lindon Police Chief Cody Cullimore.

When police arrived at the man's duplex at 480 N. Locust Ave., after unsuccessfully trying to re-establish a phone connection, they searched the backyard, where the man had claimed he was, but were unable to find him. Nearly 40 officers responded from the Lindon, Orem and Pleasant Grove police departments, as well as the Utah County Metro SWAT team.

SWAT officers located the man lying face-up under some bushes behind his residence with his right arm concealed.

Police evacuated the east side of the duplex and searched the man's home for a gun but found only the holster and ammunition, Cullimore said. The wife of the man had been at work when the incident began, he said.

When police approached the man, he refused to show officers his right arm and even stated he did not have a right hand.

He demanded that officers shoot him, and when they didn't, he began to yell obscenities at them, Cullimore said.

"You have to consider the individual may want you to come there to take his life," Cullimore said. This "suicide by cop" is becoming more common, he said.

The confrontation with police went on for about half an hour until officers were able to get a clear shot at the man.

They fired several nonlethal beanbag rounds, hitting the man on his right thigh and left hip area. The man then removed his hand, which held a loaded handgun, from behind his back.

Around 1 p.m., police took the man into custody and transported him to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center to be treated for a two-inch bloody bruise on his left leg and to see what could be done for him psychologically, Cullimore said. He said the man had been depressed for about a year due to medical and family issues.

Neighbors called the man "a great guy" and said they were sad to see this incident take place.

"This is an individual who is simply crying out for help," Cullimore said.

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